pan-fried squid & chorizo with heritage tomato & feta salad

Here's a healthy Mediterranean type option for those of you who, like me, still wish they were on holiday having long lazy lunches somewhere hot and sunny without too much of a care in the world...

This light dish started off life as a 'let's-see-what-we've-got-left-in-the-fridge' plate of food, when I fancied a starter to pre-empt the chicken dish I was cooking as my main course. The resulting meal was VERY tasty, so of course I had to share! As you can see from the photo, it looks great too; really vibrant with loads of colour, and of course the flavours are just beautiful together.

Quick to prepare, and even quicker to cook and plate up, leaving you plenty of time to slow down and enjoy with a large slurp or two of cold dry white wine...

Ingredients

For the squid

• 2 x squid (tubes/bodies only), cleaned, halved along each side and cut into thin strips widthways
• 1 x chorizo sausage, diced (I used Gubbeen chorizo from Cork, keeping it local!)
• Olive oil
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt & pepper

For the tomato salad

• 2oog (approx - I used 2 - 3 good handfuls) Heritage (a.k.a. Heirloom) tomatoes, sliced
• 80g feta cheese, diced
• Good handful of freshly chopped parsley
• 1 clove of garlic, finely sliced
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• Salt & pepper

Method

1. First make the salad. Throw everything into a bowl and season to taste with the lemon juice, salt & pepper. Leave to one side for the flavours to combine a little.
2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the chorizo. Cook for 4 or 5 minutes until the sausage starts to colour and release some of its oils.Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
3. In the same pan, add a small splash of olive oil and throw in the squid pieces.
4. Stir regularly and again, season to taste with the lemon  juice, salt & pepper.
5. When the squid is cooked (but still nice & tender) add the chorizo back into the pan for 30 seconds to warm through.
6. To serve, divide the squid & chorizo into two portions, placing in the centre of each plate.
7. Place the tomatoes randomly around the outside of the plate and drizzle over the dressing.
8. Eat as slowly as you can to maximise the enjoyment. It might also be worth trying to convince your dining partner that they don't like it that much so you can steal theirs as well. Good luck with that...

I ate this last night for the first time and even just typing up the menu I'm drooling! That must say something about how nice it is, right?! I have to say, absolutely delicious...

Serves 2

seared tuna with tuna tartare, scallops and pak choi salad

When we talk about cooking with tuna, many of us think of the tinned stuff, in oil, or water, or (more trendy) olive oil. Now, that type of tuna is pretty cool in its own right of course; it's cheap, it's versatile, and it makes a great addition to a salad, stirred into a tomato pasta sauce, or just mixed with some mayonnaise and thrown on toast with tomato & cheese for a quick & comforting classic tuna melt.

For dinner however, the fresh option will give you a whole different experience. Full of essential nutrients, fresh tuna really is something else! The texture is just amazing (the fresher the better), and can even be eaten raw (think sashimi), and the fish lends itself brilliantly well to Asian flavours.

Price-wise, it clearly costs more than the tinned variety, but is worth every penny, and really won't break the bank - and why should it?! A little goes a long way, and I've designed this recipe to show off a couple of ways to make the most of tuna and its beautiful qualities. As a light lunch or a swanky starter, it's all good. Enjoy!

Ingredients

For the seared tuna

• 1 piece of fresh tuna (around 350g is plenty for 4 people)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds

For the tuna tartare

• 150g fresh tuna, diced into very small pieces (the smaller the better)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp clear honey
• ½ lime, juice only
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Salt & freshly ground black pepper

For the scallops

• 8 scallops, corals removed
• 1 tbsp olive oil

For the pak choi salad

• 2 pak choi, cleaned and thinly sliced
• ½ lime, juice only
• Small handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ½ green chilli, finely chopped
• Handful of beansprouts
• 3 or 4 radishes, very finely sliced
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp clear honey

Method

1. First make the marinade for the tuna. Whisk the soy sauce, honey & sesame oil together in a bowl and place the tuna in, ensuring it gets a good coating. Leave for at least 5 minutes to soak up the flavours.
2. Next make the dressing for the salad. Mix everything together apart from the pak choi (reserve a small amount of coriander for garnish). Set to one side.
3. For the tuna tartare, mix all the ingredients together, seasoning to taste.
4. To finish the seared tuna, remove from the marinade and coat in the sesame seeds. Heat a griddle pan (or non-stick frying pan) until hot, add a small amount of olive oil and carefully place the tuna in the pan. Sear on all sides and remove to rest for a couple of minutes. The whole cooking process there should only take around 2-3 minutes in total, and don't panic of some of the seeds  burn a little; they just add to the flavour & textures!
5. For the scallops, season lightly with salt & freshly ground black pepper. Heat the oil in a frying pan until hot and cook the scallops for 30 - 60 seconds on each side, until they colour & start to caramelise slightly.
6. Finish the salad by adding the pak choi to the dressing, making sure everything gets a good coating.
7. To serve, place a small pile of salad on a plate. Next, slice the tuna into pieces no more than 1cm thick and place on top of the salad. Put 2 good spoonfuls of the tuna tartare on the plate and place a scallop on top of each. Finally, spoon over a little of the salad dressing and sprinkle over some of the reserved coriander.
8. Take photos, eat, smile, wonder how you didn't make this earlier...

Serves 4.

Special mention once again to the guys at Kish Fish for supplying the tuna & scallops. You rock!

scallops with pea & mint purée, black pudding & rocket salad

I just love scallops! Sweet, soft, indulgent-tasting flesh (not too 'fishy' for those of you who don't like fish to taste of fish!), and really good for you too! Not only that but this luxurious seafood has really come down in price recently, and finally, they're REALLY easy to cook, meaning you can have a swanky restaurant regular in your own home without too much trouble!

Paired with some thing meaty (but not too meaty!), the succulence of scallops is highlighted even more, for the ultimate surf 'n' turf. Great with pork belly (or the more expensive venison) for a main course, or as a starter with something lighter, such as the black pudding I've paired with it here. It's a classic combination, and for one good reason: it tastes fantastic!

Thanks again to my friends at Kish Fish for supplying the fantastic scallops!

Ingredients

• 6 scallops, cleaned & corals removed.
• 6 slices of black pudding, cut to approx. 1cm tick

For the pea purée:

• 200g/7oz frozen garden peas
• 2 sprigs of fresh mint
• Small knob of butter

For the rocket salad:

• Good handful of rocket leaves
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (or chopped very finely)
• ½ lemon (juice only)
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Method

1. Bring a small pan of water to the boil & add the peas & mint sprigs. Cook for around 3 minutes, until he peas have softened & are tender.
2. Drain the peas & mint, pick the mint leaves from the sprigs (careful, they may be hot!). Add to a blender with a knob of butter & blitz until smooth. Alternatively you can of course use a hand blender.
3. For the rocket salad, combine all the ingredients in a large bowl except the rocket and stir well until thoroughly mixed. Finally add the rocket leaves by hand and mix together until well coated.
4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan until hot and fry the black pudding for around 2 minutes on each side, until cooked through and crispy ion the outside. Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper.
5. Add a little more olive oil to the pan, heat again until hot. Season your scallops with a little salt & freshly ground black pepper and add to the pan. Cook for 30 - 60 seconds, until they start to brown & caramelise, then turn and cook for the same time on the other side. The timing will vary depending on the size of your scallops, but even the largest ones out there shouldn't take more than a minute on each side.
6. To serve, spoon 3 dollops of the pea purée onto a plate, then add a slice of black pudding, finally topping off with a scallop.
7. Dress the rest of the plate with some of the rocket salad, in any way that looks pretty!

Serves 2.

lamb with mediterranean vegetables

Spring has finally sprung, or is at least starting to have a bit more of a boing about it, and what better food to get stuck into than lovely lamb?

The temperature out there still isn't up to our normal tropical Irish summer levels just yet though, so this dish offers a great combination of in-season meat with some warming, and ever-hopeful summer type vegetables from the Med, all cooked together in the oven to warm the belly and keep the comfort food cravings well in check.

If you don't have all of the vegetables listed, no problem! Just use whatever you have in. In the past I've done this using asparagus, green beans, carrots, red onions, butternut squash...

Ingredients

• 4 lamb chops or cutlets
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves
• 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 1 aubergine, sliced into 1cm thick slices
• 2 courgettes, sliced into 1cm thick slices
• 1 red pepper, cut into large pieces
• 1 yellow pepper, cut into large pieces
• 1 red onion, peeled & cut into large pieces
• 200g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 50g feta cheese
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C (fan 160C) / 350F / gas mark 4
2. Place the rosemary, mint & garlic into a pestle & mortar and pound until they're all mixed up to a fairly smooth consistency (not too smooth though - we like chunks!). Add the olive oil and mix together. Smear the mixture over the main 'eye' of the lamb chops & set to one side.
3. Lightly oil a large baking dish and add in the aubergine, courgette, peppers and red onion.
4. Drizzle a little olive oil over the vegetables, season with salt & pepper, and mix everything together to coat. Lay the lamb on top of the vegetables and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
5. Crumble the feta cheese and dot that around the lamb, scatter the cherry tomatoes around the dish and place back in the oven for a further 10 minutes (the cheese should start to brown very slightly).
6. Serve with fresh sliced ciabatta and a mixed leaf salad.
7. Finish off with a glass of your favourite wine too! Being lamb, this dish will go with most red, rose or dry white wines. Easy!

Serves 4.